China private equity deal values cratered in 2016, but that's not the whole story

After a record-breaking year of deal making in 2015, uncertainties surrounding China dented confidence last year, resulting in a 25.8 percent fall in value of private equity deals in Asia Pacific, according to a Thursday report by Bain & Company.

The region saw the value of private equity deals totaling $92 billion in 2016, down from 2015's all-time high of $124 billion, according to the report. China continued to dominate activity, but total deal value dropped 31.9 percent year-on-year to $49 billion.

Despite the fall, 2016 was still the second-best year for Asia Pacific, the firm noted.

Kiki Yang, speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box"Friday, said 2017 started on a strong note and would likely continue despite still-existing macro uncertainties.

"We're looking at a very strong start to the year. Internet and technology sectors are very hot across different countries in the region. So far what we have seen is, despite a lot of the macro uncertainties, the market is still going strong in private equity this year," she said.

China, Yang added, would remain a very active and attractive market for investors.

"2015 was the blockbuster year for China, it was a record year of $72 billion, an increase of about 56 percent from 2014. So, nobody was expecting that kind of momentum to continue in 2016. But, if you look at the number of deals that happened in China last year, it went up by 16 percent versus 2015, so the market is still very, very attractive," she said.